Sons of Candy Ride Look Tough Saturday

• Who: Thoroughbreds – Capt. Candyman Can, Twirling Candy
• What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Aristides, The Californian
• Where: Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park
• When: Saturday, June 4th

We’re a little more than a week away from The Belmont Stakes, and a potential rubber match between Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford. In the meantime, there’s some top-notch horse racing action to sink your teeth into. On Saturday, The Aristides at Churchill Downs features some of the nation’s best sprinters, including Grade 1 winners Here Comes Ben, Capt. Candyman Can and Noble’s Promise. Later in the afternoon, the 58th Running of The Californian headlines the Hollywood Park card. Grade 1 winner Twirling Candy figures to be the post-time favorite, but he’ll be challenged by hard-knockers such as Gladding, Aggie Engineer, and Setsuko. Will it be a big day for the sons of Candy Ride? Let’s take a look.

Here Comes Ben probably needed his comebacker. He’s done his best running at Churchill Downs, but you’ll note he’s only tried six furlongs once in his life, finishing third. This may be too short for him. Riley Tucker is the defending champ, but he hasn’t turned in a similar performance since then. Cash Refund is a 6-furlong specialist, but appears to be a cut below these. Atta Boy Roy has failed to crack 90 on the Beyer scale in his last three dirt starts. Noble’s Promise is a very classy individual, and won his only 6-furlong start in a minor stakes race locally, in which he earned a respectable Beyer Speed Figure of 102. He’s capable of upsetting this bunch. Still, it will be a tall order to defeat Capt. Candyman Can, who has campaigned successfully against the nation’s top sprinters throughout his career. He’s in sharp form, likes Churchill, and gets Borel back after the pair got familiar with one another last out. I’ll bet on Capt. Candyman Can to win at odds of 2-1 or better, and box him in exactas with Here Comes Ben, Cash Refund and Noble’s Promise.

In The Californian, Twirling Candy looks like a standout. He’s been training up a storm at Hollywood, and has run well fresh throughout his career. The mile-and-a-quarter of The Big Cap may have been a bit beyond his scope, but the nine-furlong distance of The Californian is right in his wheelhouse. Setsuko got the better of him in The Big Cap at nearly 26-1, but the Mandella trainee is still eligible for an entry-level allowance race, and hasn’t run that well off the bench. Their last meeting appears to be an aberration. I’ll take Twirling Candy to win The Californian at odds of 3-5 or better.

Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!